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Post by babygeige on May 9, 2013 20:52:45 GMT -5
The population of my 30 gallon tank has been declining lately, partly because really old fish are dying off and partly because something has been wrong with some of my harlequin rasboras since I got them and it's finally catching up with them.
And I figure since I'm so frustrated with the plants anyway, I might just to an almost complete tear down and start over. I'll probably keep the gravel, but I'm thinking about getting rid of the rocks I've had in there and getting a long piece of drift wood or something.
My LFS has a trade in program for lights, so I traded in the T5 fixture I had and got a basic Marineland Double Bright LED fixture. I know it's not the best LED light, but I'm probably just going to go back down to low-light requirement plants.
Another thing I was tossing around was removing the gravel and replacing it with a finer substrate and getting some of those silly shell-dwelling cichlids, or other fish that like sandy substrate. I've never had sand before though...is it hard to keep clean without vacuuming it all up?
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Post by babygeige on May 9, 2013 20:33:28 GMT -5
Sorry to see that you're having so many difficulties with fish, Renee. Hopefully Puon is on the mend, although it definitely is strange that its spine would be straightening out on its own... could it have gotten sucked against a filter intake or something and then somehow managed to pull free?
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Post by babygeige on May 2, 2013 18:17:45 GMT -5
Oh wow. That's so fast! Poor fishy. I think I read a bit about Mycobacterium in TFh once. Sounds scary. You'd think that a lab would do work for whomever is willing to pay.
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Post by babygeige on Apr 11, 2013 22:32:21 GMT -5
Yes, it's a huge place. The tank where they have the whale shark is crazy, a giant wall of acrylic. I'd love to go back. When we went before, we were in GA for a wedding. There's another wedding down there this fall, but it's the same weekend as another commitment I had already made, so it doesn't look like I'm going to make it.
If you go, head over there right when they open. That's the best time to go. We went pretty early and by the time we left it was jammed. If you go early, it's nice and calm.
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Post by babygeige on Apr 11, 2013 22:22:54 GMT -5
What kind of camera did you take that with? It looks like it might have come from a phone. Yeah, I took that a while back with my phone (droid 2). That's my work fish, Penelope. Thanks for the Photobucket tip! Nice pictures, missdiane! Your tank looks great! Your betta looks just like the very first betta I ever had, Jasper.
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Post by babygeige on Apr 11, 2013 22:16:26 GMT -5
Wow, the tank looks amazing!
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Post by babygeige on Apr 11, 2013 20:39:36 GMT -5
I had ghost shrimp a few years back. I had them for a while and then they mysteriously disappeared. I found one of them in my filter a week or so later, still alive. He was just hanging out in there. I got him out, put him back in the tank and then he disappeared again and I never saw him.
I've had much better luck with Red Cherry Shrimp in my 10 gallon. I don't recommend keeping them with a betta though. I did that once and lost all my shrimp. This time around I just had the shrimp with a few white clouds and a harlequin rasbora. I started out with 9 shrimp and now I've probably got about 30...
Make sure your tank is stable, acclimate them well before putting them in the tank. You do have to be careful about water quality. They are low maintenance, but you do have to keep up with the water changes.
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Post by babygeige on Mar 21, 2013 18:07:49 GMT -5
Yeah, you really get your money's worth out of them! And java fern...and anubias...
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Post by babygeige on Mar 21, 2013 18:06:55 GMT -5
If you have a regular fluorescent light fixture and just have low tech plants (java fern, anubias, many crypts), you can usually get away with the basic Plant and Aquarium bulbs commonly found at hardware stores. That's what I used on my 10 gallon, and that's what I've got in the fixture for my 50 gallon. I replace them once a year or so. They're 6500K, just like the ones the big box pet store sells, only cost half as much!
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Post by babygeige on Mar 16, 2013 13:56:50 GMT -5
Nice picture! The plants look great! I use photobucket. Just choose the image code link under the picture on photobucket's site, then paste it here in your text box. I think photobucket resizes images when it uploads them...mine don't usually take up the whole screen. Unless I have a setting somewhere on the forum or in my browser that does... This photo fits right in my reply box. Does it take up your whole screen?
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Post by babygeige on Mar 16, 2013 13:47:57 GMT -5
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Blech!
Mar 16, 2013 13:38:52 GMT -5
Post by babygeige on Mar 16, 2013 13:38:52 GMT -5
I have *cough* had some downright horrifyingly gross situations with fish eating dead fish. I think I'll leave it at that though unless you want to know more. Renee Haha, yeah. Been there too. Yuck!
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Post by babygeige on Mar 16, 2013 13:32:22 GMT -5
A lot of your typical community fish adapt well to most water conditions. You usually only have to worry about soft/hard, etc if you're looking to breed.
If you don't feel like chasing water hardness and pH, there are a lot of choices out there for fish that like harder water conditions.
Celebes rainbows do well in harder water. I had those when I first set up my 30 gallon. I've got one old girl left (I've had her for over 6 years!). They are very pretty, active and peaceful fish. They only get to be about 3 inches long, so they're a nice choice for a 30. (Mine is a long 30 gallon - 36 inches long) I highly recommend them, but make sure your tank is cycled and stable before you get them. And you'd want a group of 6 or so.
I know there are others, I just can't think of them right off the top of my head.
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Hello
Mar 10, 2013 13:42:18 GMT -5
Post by babygeige on Mar 10, 2013 13:42:18 GMT -5
Hi! Welcome to the forum! Feel free to post some pictures of your tank in the Photos board. We always like seeing new tanks!
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Post by babygeige on Mar 10, 2013 13:38:00 GMT -5
Zebras are definitely neat fish. We had them in our aquarium when I was little. I may get some for my 50 gallon someday. It's nice that your friend was able to take some of them.
I know how mean people can get on forums when they don't agree with others. It's not very productive, is it?
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Blech!
Mar 10, 2013 13:29:27 GMT -5
Post by babygeige on Mar 10, 2013 13:29:27 GMT -5
At that age, he deserves a shrimp dinner once - lol Haha, I suppose! I just keeping telling myself that the shrimp was already dead...it makes it a little less disturbing (but only a little)
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Post by babygeige on Mar 8, 2013 21:59:54 GMT -5
I started with one crypt lutea in the middle-back of the tank. There's 5 or 6 smaller ones spread through the tank now. I can't imagine with the roots look like under the gravel, lol.
I've got 2 crypt parva plants in there too. They're so small and funny looking. I'll post a pic of them sometime. I keep waiting for them to grow. I know parva is one of the smallest varieties, but geez!
I've read that excel is a great BBA killer. I've never tried it though. I'm just glad I didn't kill my little moss ball. I'm interested to see how big it will get!
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Post by babygeige on Mar 8, 2013 21:53:52 GMT -5
Hi missdiane, IMO you are a bit overstocked in your 20 gallon. Zebra danios are zippy fish that like to have lots of room to swim around, and you have a lot of them. It is recommend that you buy them in a group so they aren't shy and stressed, but I'm worried that your tank is a bit too small for them, especially when you add in the other fish you've got in that tank. I do think it's great that you do two water changes a week. That will greatly help keep things under control. Plus having your tank planted will also be a help. I wouldn't worry too much about changing your PH around. It's better for the fish if it's consistent. If it swings too much too often, that can cause stress on your fish. Just do the best you can maintaining the tank, keep up with the water changes. I don't recommend adding any more fish, though. I'm curious, how well do the crowntail betta and the guppies get along? Does the betta go after the guppies? I'm sure Carl and others will have more thoughts, especially on your readings. I'm not a big science expert. Oh, and welcome to the forum!
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Blech!
Mar 8, 2013 21:35:17 GMT -5
Post by babygeige on Mar 8, 2013 21:35:17 GMT -5
My 10 gallon tank houses one very old White Cloud Mountain Minnow, one Harlequin Rasbora, and 30-40 red cherry shrimp. Tonight I was going by the tank and noticed something sticking out of the white cloud. He was wolfing down one of my shrimp!!! I have had him in this tank with shrimp for over 3 years and this is the first time I've seen a shrimp get eaten. I was completely floored.
First: how did he catch it? He's pushing 5 years old! He must have had a lucky snatch at an unsuspecting shrimp just swimming by. Unless he found an equally ancient shrimp - or a dead one... hm...
Second: How did the shrimp fit in his tiny little white cloud mouth? They're not exactly big fish.
I just had to share. It was so weird!
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Post by babygeige on Mar 6, 2013 18:38:04 GMT -5
Here's a picture of my moss ball. It's kind of an odd shape, with this funny little extra tuft sticking out of it. It reminds me of a tribble from the old Star Trek episode.
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